This week, we'll be looking at a new dimension of digital rhetoric: sonic rhetoric. Sonic rhetoric considers the affordances of sound in the practices of rhetoric and composition. We'll be discussion theories of sonic rhetoric, and you will apply sonic rhetoric by creating a podcast of your own and reflecting on the experience. Given the constraints of our course, I'm only asking you to create a 4-5 minute podcast. However, if this is something you enjoy, you may want to consider podcasting for your final project.

Here is your to-do list for the week:

1) Read the following scholarship that engages with sonic rhetoric:

Jon Stone and Steph Ceraso, "Sonic Rhetorics: A Mashed-Up Introduction in Sound" http://harlotofthearts.org/index.php/harlot/article/view/180/133
This is the introduction to a special issue of a journal that delves into sonic rhetorics. As you will see, the authors have chosen to engage with sonic rhetoric in the creation of their article. When you read/listen, consider both the content and the formal dimensions of this essay. What do you find compelling? Effective? Challenging? Troubling? Optionally, you may also wish to peruse the other articles in the special issue: http://harlotofthearts.org/index.php/harlot/issue/view/9.
Lydia French and Emily Bloom, "Auralacy: From Plato to Podcasting and Back Again" http://currents.dwrl.utexas.edu/2011/auralacyfromplatotopodcasting.html
This essay, which also uses sound in its format, considers aural dimensions of literacy, particularly from the perspective of audience. It also engages with classical forms of rhetoric to think about sonic and digital rhetoric. In addition to the claims the authors are making, consider the relationship between how sound is used in this essay vs. in Stone and Ceraso's. Do you find one more effective than the other? Why?

2) Experiment with podcasting.

Consider podcasts you have listened to. What is a podcast? How would you define the genre of the podcast? What are its particular features and affordances? What makes a podcast an effective or interesting one for you? How do theories of sonic rhetoric apply to the podcasts you enjoy? How does the experience of podcast differ from that of reading texts? If you haven't listened to podcasts, consider some of the following:

Serial https://serialpodcast.org/
This American Life http://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast
The Moth https://themoth.org/podcast
RadioLab http://www.radiolab.org/series/podcasts/

Compose a podcast of your own, using the steps below. Some questions to consider: How did you apply sonic rhetoric theory in the composition of your podcast? How does your experience composing a podcast differ from writing in an alphabetic mode (on paper or in a Word document)? How was it similar?

Begin by considering what the topic of your podcast will be. You'll only be creating a short episode, but what would you envision the theme or topic that connects one episode to the next? Who is the audience for this podcast? What do you want them to know or learn from the podcast? How do these choices influence the decisions you make as a digital writer when composing the podcast?
Draft your podcast. You should create a 4-5 minute podcast on a topic of your choosing. What process do you use for composing? Do you improvise? Write a script? A bit of both? Do you incorporate sounds other than your own voice? What effect do they have?
Record your podcast. You can use any number of platforms to record your podcast. Audacity (http://www.audacityteam.org/) is free software you can download. If you have a Mac, you could use Garageband, which comes installed on your computer, and if you have a PC you should be able to use Windows Media Maker. Your smartphone might also have a voice memo feature you could use - or you could find an app. If you use Audacity, there are tutorials for using it here: http://manual.audacityteam.org/#tutorials. If you use different software and don't know how to use it, just Google tutorials. Part of the experience of digital writing is tinkering with platforms, playing around, and figuring out how to use them to create your digital composition. If you run into challenges, try to Google solutions or post to our troubleshooting board.
Join PodOmatic (www.podomatic.com), which is free, and choose "Create a Podcast" to upload your podcast. With your podcast uploaded, you'll be able to share the link in the discussion board for the week.
If you would like to include sound effects or intro music, check out the following sources for music you can use:
- Jamendo (400,000 free tracks)
- Freeplay Music (15,000 songs)
- Freesound (sounds)
- Sound Dogs (sound effects)
- Free Music Archive
- Noisetrade (Music)
- Wikimedia Commons
- MP3 Rocket (Creative Commons option)
- Rip Audio from You Tube Videos https://www.onlinevideoconverter.com/mp3-converter

3) Post to the discussion board for the week.

Please post an initial response of 250 words to each question by Thursday at 11:59pm. Additionally, please post two substantive follow-up comments to each question by Sunday at 11:59pm. The goal of these follow-up comments is to engage in discussion with your classmates about the topics of the week.

4. (optional) If you have questions about the course material, assignments, or any other dimension of the class, please use the troubleshooting board or the open forum question in this week's discussion board.